In the production of hydrocarbon fluid from a wellbore, it is common practice to install one or more tubular casing sections in the wellbore to stabilize the wellbore and to control inflow of fluid into the wellbore from the surrounding formation. In conventional applications the casing sections are of stepwise decreasing diameter in downward direction, which is a consequence of the installation procedure whereby each next casing section must pass through the previously installed section.
It has been proposed to provide alternative casing schemes which overcome the problem of stepwise decreasing casing diameters. For example in one such alternative casing scheme, each casing section is installed in the wellbore by lowering the casing section through the previously installed section to the desired depth whereby a short overlap section of the casing section extends into the previously installed section. Next the casing section is radially expanded in the wellbore to allow lowering of a drill string having a drill bit of relatively large diameter therethrough. After deepening the wellbore using the drill bit of relatively large diameter, a further casing section is lowered through the expanded casing section. Thereafter the cycle of expanding the casing section, further drilling the wellbore, and lowering a new casing section, is repeated. As a result a wellbore of substantially uniform diameter is achieved.
The installed casing sections may be fixed and sealed in the wellbore by pumping a layer of cement between the casing and the wellbore wall. Alternatively, the casing may be expanded against the wellbore wall. This technology could be applied to the Expandable Open Hole Liner, as well. The sealing function of the cement layer relates to the requirement that migration of formation fluids, such as formation water, through the annular space between the casing and the wellbore wall should be prevented. However it has been experienced that adequate sealing by pumping a layer of cement in the annular space, is sometimes difficult to achieve. For example if the drilling fluid used to drill the wellbore is not fully replaced by cement in the annular space, or if adequate filling of the annular space with cement is hampered by irregularities in the wellbore wall, there is a risk that formation fluids migrate in axial direction through the annular space.
WO 03/008756 discloses an alternative system for sealing an annular space in a wellbore, wherein a swellable annular seal is arranged in the annular space. The seal is made of a rubber material susceptible of swelling upon contact with oil or water, depending of the type of application. In use the seal swells when formation fluid enters the wellbore thereby sealing the annular space and preventing axial migration of formation fluid through the wellbore.
Examples of materials which swell when in contact with water are 1) Poly-Electrolytes such as Super Absorbing Polymers (SAP) such as Sodium Polyacrylate and Acrylic Acids, 2) hydrophilic clays such as Sodium Bentonite particles (e.g. Wyoming Bentonite), or 3) natural water swelling material such as wood, cork or cellulose fillers. Hydrophilic elastomers are used in civil engineering applications, for example as tunneling gaskets.
Although adequate swelling results have been obtained with the above materials when in contact with fresh (non-saline) water it has been experienced that seals made of these materials swell insufficiently when in contact with saline formation water. For example, Sodium Polyacrylate particles and Bentonite particles immersed in water have a sharply declining swelling ratio when the water changes from fresh water to saline water, especially if divalent cat ions such as Ca2+ and Mg2+ are present which is usually the case for common oilfield formation aquifers. The declining swelling ratio of SAP's in saline water, especially in bi-valent cation containing solutions, is reviewed in “Modern super absorbent polymer technology”, Buchholz, F. L. and Graham, A. T., Wiley New York 1998, page 57 and FIG. 2.16, where the dramatic reduction in swelling capacity of a crosslinked sodium polyacrylate in 0.9 wt % NaCl solutions, is indicated for increasing CaCl2 concentrations. Here, swelling ratio is defined as the ratio of the volume of a body after swelling thereof over the volume of the body before swelling thereof. Furthermore, hydrophilic Polyurethanes (such as Sanyo's Aquaprene C-520® Kuriyama's Aquaquell 8V®, Denbi's Hydrotite®) which do swell in saline solutions are considered unsuitable for most well applications in view of their limited long term resistance to higher temperatures.